The recent tragedy in Parkland, Fla., is a reflection of the disintegration of our nation’s culture and the arc of healthy human development. We have allowed the “desacralization” of our society in which the experience of the human person has been separated — oftentimes denied — from one’s spiritual nature. Our political, media and educational institutions ignore or oppose the critical values centered in the development of civil society based on human compassion and love of self and neighbor.

In the past, we had a society in which the family cooperated with educational institutions in teaching and fostering these values.

Today, these institutions have been victimized by the values of fame and fortune and “acadumbies,” politically defined missions and leaders who offer a material definition of self.

It is time for critical reform of our institutions or learning. Parents, child-care personnel and teachers need to be freed to focus on the spiritual and social development of children as their focus before the destructive focus of deadening curriculum and testing requirements.